Skip to content
DRAFT REPORT (2024/2027(DEC))

On discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023, Section VIII – European Ombudsman

CONT-PR-764991

Committee on Budgetary Control · Rapporteur: Joachim Stanisław Brudziński

Official HTML ↗ PDF DOCX
✦ In shortFull text
✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 4 Sept 2026

Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

This draft report proposes granting discharge to the European Ombudsman for the 2023 budget and includes a resolution with observations on budget management, performance, staffing, ethics, and other areas. It notes the Ombudsman's budget was EUR 13,212,447 with a 95.39% implementation rate, and highlights increased workload, efficiency gains, and high staff satisfaction. It calls for continued efforts on transparency, geographical balance in staffing, and implementation of audit recommendations.

Committee position. The rapporteur proposes granting discharge to the European Ombudsman for the 2023 financial year, with observations in the accompanying resolution.

Key points

  1. Grants discharge to the European Ombudsman for implementing its 2023 budget, with observations in the resolution.
  2. Notes the Ombudsman's budget was EUR 13,212,447, up 8.1% from 2022, mainly due to salary adjustments and two additional posts.
  3. Reports a budget implementation rate of 95.39% and payment execution rate of 97.58%, with lower carry-over execution than in 2022.
  4. Notes nine budgetary transfers totaling EUR 241,150 (1.8% of appropriations) and a 41% increase in IT expenditure.
  5. Highlights increased workload: 2,392 new complaints, 398 inquiries opened, and a record 167 public access complaints.
  6. Commends reduced processing times for admissibility and public access cases, but notes average inquiry time remained high at 165 days.
  7. Notes an 81% acceptance rate by institutions of Ombudsman proposals, up from 79% in 2022.
  8. Calls on the next Ombudsman to keep management vacancies short, following the Secretary-General post being vacant since September 2022.
  9. Urges continued efforts for balanced geographical staff distribution, noting overrepresentation of some nationalities.
  10. Welcomes high staff satisfaction (87%) and no harassment cases reported in 2023.
  11. Notes the Ombudsman did not join the EU transparency register to remain able to investigate complaints about its secretariat, but aligns practices.
  12. Invites the Ombudsman to report on remaining audit recommendations and progress on AI and data protection actions.

Who is affected

  • The European Ombudsman and its staff, who receive discharge and are subject to recommendations on staffing, ethics, and transparency.
  • Union institutions and bodies, which are encouraged to comply with Ombudsman recommendations and improve transparency.

Figures and deadlines

  • EUR 13,212,447: Ombudsman's 2023 budget, an increase of EUR 990,339 (+8.1%) from 2022.
  • 95.39%: budget implementation rate in 2023, down 1.58% from 2022.
  • 97.58%: payment execution rate in 2023, up 1.31% from 2022.
  • EUR 241,150: total of nine budgetary transfers in 2023, 1.8% of appropriations.
  • 41%: increase in IT expenditure from EUR 159,714 in 2022 to EUR 224,698 in 2023.
  • 2,392: new complaints handled in 2023, up from 2,223 in 2022.
  • 81%: acceptance rate of Ombudsman proposals by institutions in 2023, up from 79% in 2022.
  • 87%: overall staff satisfaction rate in 2023 staff survey.

Legal basis: Article 314(10) and Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union